Master these iconic Indian sweets with easy steps and bring the festival spirit to your kitchen.
Having sweets is like replenishing the soul. It calms you
down and makes the bad thoughts go away. You can find everything in a sweet that you buy from a store, but one thing you will never find is the sweetness of the love and care that you put into making it. So here I will introduce you to the recipes of two of the popular sweets in our Indian cuisine, which are my favorite too, and you can make them at home.
Gulab Jamun
To make a gulab jamun, all you need is some khoya, maida, milk, ghee, cardamom powder or pods, baking powder, and lots of love. Now you have to prepare a dough and for that mix the dry ingredients first, then add ghee into it, and after mixing it well, slowly add milk and knead the dough. When the dough gets a smooth and soft texture, cover it with a damp cloth for about 30 minutes. Now, as your dough is resting, prepare the sugar syrup by adding sugar, water, and cardamom, and bring it to a boil until it starts to thicken. When your dough is fully rested, divide it into medium-sized balls and deep fry it in ghee until it gets a golden brown color. Now for the final step, put the fried balls in the sugar syrup for 2 to 3 hours and make sure that the syrup is not boiling, or else the gulab jamuns will break. Here you have it - hot gulab jamuns ready in no time!
Rasgulla
The process of making the most popular Bengali sweet is not too different from gulab jamun. Here you will need chenna, instead of khoya, and you can either buy it from your local sweet shop or you can even prepare it at home by adding calcium powder or lemon in boiling milk. The ingredients for this are chenna, cardamom, and yes, love is a must. After preparing or buying the chenna, you need to knead it till it is smooth and soft, and rest it for 30 minutes. While resting, prepare the sugar syrup as you did for gulab jamun, and until it boils, cut the dough into small balls. When the syrup slightly thickens, turn the gas to medium flames and add the balls, cover the pan, and slowly bring it to a boil. It will take around 30 minutes for the rasgulla to soak up the syrup and rise in size. Bring the rasgulla to room temperature and serve it.
One dessert from the north of India and another from the east of India. Which one do you like the most, and dare to make it at home?
